Politics News

William (back in toronto) asked:


I remember he looked just like Hu Jintao but a lot fatter. He wore glasses like Hu Jintao.

Peace Love and Harmony asked:


Please explain the moral basis of the Bush/GOP foreign policy.

(HINT: It seems to have something to do with OIL and PROFITS.)

BTW, I’m for democracy, and the hypocrisy of the right wing is UNBELIEVABLE.

devilsadv asked:


MY question is did Lech Walesa deserve to win the peace prize or was it just cold war rivalry?

Eric Castro asked:


September 7th, 1835: H.M.S. Beagle set sail from Callao, Peru, to the Galapagos Archipelago. About eight days later, o ff in the distance, the island of San Cristobal Island showed a high volcanic peak as evidence of arrival. They young Englishman had arrived to one of Earth’s most pristine areas: the Galapagos. For a period of five weeks the HMS Beagle sails in Galapagos waters under the command of Captain Robert Fitzroy. Their mission: to survey isolated places hardly visited by navigators. This list of places includes Cape Horn, Australia & New Zealand, Galapagos, Tahiti, and more.

Young Charles Darwin spent only two weeks ashore, and it was enough time for him to catch a glimpse of what is natural selection. Little did he know, it would take him almost 25 years after his Galapagos visit, to publish the book The Origin of Species. Scientific thinking was to change forever, as Darwinian principles now dominate virtually any field of study.

Our ships decided to take part of this celebration, and 170 years later, our Galapagos Naturalists included during briefings a small excerpt of C. Darwin’s visit to the islands, matching that particular day.

Upon landing on September 15th, 1835… H.M.S. Beagle reached Hood Island today. Early in the morning Edward Chaffers (master) and Arthur Mellersh (midshipman) set out on a boat to examine the island’s shoreline. By noon another boat was launched to survey the central islands of the archipelago. Later in the afternoon H.M.S. Beagle reached Chatham Island. Darwin was intrigued by the black lava rocky shore, and raw hostile environment of the island.

These days, our guests get to learn more insights about Charles Darwin. Clearly, our intention is to share a very important subject with our visitors; one that blends history, amazement and discovery.

The HMS Beagle sailed away from Galapagos after a glooming sunset in October 20th, 1835. Aboard our ships, our Expedition Staff will thoroughly cover throughout September and October what Charles Darwin’s visit to Galápagos must have been like, back in 1835.

Certainly, this is an anniversary that commemorates a voyage that brought Darwin to what would become later, his greatest source of inspiration, and evolutionary evidence.

For more information about Galapagos Cruise & Tours visit:

Galapagos Islands Cruises

Galapagos Cruises

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram asked:


Bradley-Wilder effect asserts that some white voters when they reveal their political preferences state the black candidate as their preference (lest they be misconstrued to be closed-minded) in a white-black candidates race though the real preference of the said voters may be the white candidate.

So we have the situation of the publicly expressed polls overstating the support for a black candidate in a black-white candidates political race. The two political choices that are cited as examples of this effect are the 1981 California gubernatorial race between Dukemajian (white candidate) and Bradley (black candidate), and the 1989 Virgina gubernatorial race between Wilder (black candidate) and Coleman (white candidate.)

The question now is: is the Bradley-Wilder effect is still alive? And is it showing up in Obama-Clinton Democratic party presidential contest?

The most compelling data to assert that Bradley-Wilder effect may be operational comes from the Pennsylvania Democratic primary. About one in five Pennsylvania voters said the race of the candidates was among the top factors in deciding how to vote, according to exit polls, and white voters who cited race supported Clinton over Obama by a 3-to-1 margin.

The polls, conducted by Edison/Mitofsky for the five television networks and The Associated Press, asked voters if the race of the candidate was important: 19 percent said yes, while 80 percent said no. Of those who said yes, 59 percent voted for Mrs. Clinton and 41 percent voted for Senator Barack Obama. Of those who said no, 53 percent voted for Mrs. Clinton and 47 percent voted for Mr. Obama. Broken down by race, 13 percent of whites said race was important to them, and 75 percent of those voters sided with Mrs. Clinton. Of the 66 percent of whites who said race was not important to them, 58 percent voted for her.

Further, a recent Associated Press-Yahoo News poll found that about 8 percent of whites would be uncomfortable voting for a black president. (The actual percentage is probably higher because voters are shy about admitting a racial prejudice to pollsters.)

So are we watching Bradley-Wilder effect? May be but there are some serious confounding elements. Here is one. Unlike pre-election polls, the exit polls do not involve a “face to face” interview. Rather, the exit poll interviewer’s task is to randomly select and recruit respondents, hand them a paper questionnaire, a pencil and a clipboard and allow the respondents to privately fill out the questionnaire and deposit it into a large “ballot box.” (Note that the “Bradley/Wilder effect” pertained less to exit polls but to pre-election telephone surveys. The underlying theory was that white respondents were sometimes unwilling to reveal their preference for the white candidate in a bi-racial contest when they felt some “social discomfort” in doing so. That is, respondents would be less likely to reveal their true preference in a telephone interview if they believed the interviewer supported a different candidate.)

Eric Castro asked:


When the Inca king Atahualpa was killed in Cajamarca and the Spanish Conquistadors advanced towards Quito, the city was evacuated and set on fire. It was on the ashes of the Inca city that Sebastián de Benalcázar founded San Francisco de Quito, on top of the few ruins left him. The founding date, December 6, 1534, is celebrated annually with the Fiestas de Quito.

The celebration of the Quito’s Spanish foundation lasts a whole week, among parades with floats, dancing in the streets, people ‘riding the roof’ of the chiva buses, the bullfight season (a tradition introduced by the Spanish), the election of the Queen of Quito and a number of cultural activities. The world championship of “40″, a card game played only in Ecuador is an important part of the festivity.

The Saturday before the start of the Fiestas, the Quiteños of all the different barrios, broom in hand, clean and sweep the city; the example is set by the novices of Monastery of San Francisco who come out and sweep the traditional San Francisco Square in Quito Historic downtown.

The central event during this celebration are the bullfights, with the participation of more Spanish “matadors” than local ones. During the week of festivities Quito lives a Spanish fiesta, with flamenco dancers, manzanilla drinking, people wearing the typical Spanish hats to the bullfights and afterwards, enjoying long lunches with the most famous delicacies of the Spanish cuisine to delight local palates.

Throughout the week, open sided buses called chivas, take groups of friends who climb to the roof to party, singing, dancing and drinking, accompanied by music bands. Many chivas run along the streets of the city in this festive mood.

Quito is a blessed spot cradled in the Andes at the foot of Pichincha Volcano. It has the largest and one of the best-preserved historical centers in South America, since the modern part of the city developed to the north, leaving the existing colonial treasures intact. In the last two years, the city’s government invested an important sum in renovations, which is showcased in the new brilliance of the historical core’s buildings, which offer a myriad of classic architectural styles. Come and celebrate with us!

For more information about Ecuador tours & Galapagos Cruises visit:

Galapagos Islands Cruises

Galapagos Cruises

James William Smith asked:


Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the Democratic Party Presidential nomination has been over since early March. However, during the last two months, the Clinton campaign has exploited some very dubious Democratic primary election rules and a compliant media which profits from an uncertain Presidential race, to continue to run her failed Presidential campaign.
It is likely that both Clintons have realized for several months that Hillary Clinton would not be the Democratic Party nominee in 2008. In addition to craving the power of elected office, the Clintons are, if nothing else, very politically astute. So why does Mrs. Clinton continue her futile 2008 campaign? The answer to that question is becoming increasingly apparent with each passing day. She is using it as a political platform to launch her next campaign for the Presidency in 2012.
Make no mistake that at the right political time, after all the primaries and caucuses end in June, she will concede the 2008 Democratic party nomination to Barack Obama. Her concession speech will occur before the Democratic convention but only after all the delegates from Michigan and Florida have been seated.
In her speech, she will say that she is withdrawing from this close election for the good of the party and that she is acting for the high purpose of party unity. She will also say that she has stayed in the race to insure that the interests of every delegate in Florida and Michigan are treated properly.
Of course, prior to her public concession speech, she will have secured from the Obama campaign her own prime time televised speech at the Democratic convention and a pledge to absorb her campaign’s multi million dollar debt. Her reward for finally acknowledging the reality of her election defeat will be several more months of positive political visibility and an improvement in her finances to pursue a future campaign.
In addition she will experience the good will of a Democratic Party trying to avoid a divisive August Democratic convention. She will also be seen fighting for the victims of the Democratic primary rules in the states of Michigan and Florida. Overall, it is a 2008 political ending with the potential to launch another Presidential campaign for her in the future.
However, after the Democratic convention, Hillary Clinton will need some political luck in the fall. The truth is that she needs Barack Obama to lose the November Presidential election. His defeat cannot be traced back to either Hillary or Bill Clinton in any way. Surely, there will be many Clinton promises to campaign hard for Obama, but the actual effort by them for the Obama campaign will surely be constrained as it was for Democratic candidate John Kerry four years ago.
Two terms of Barack Obama in the White House and in control of the Democratic Party would leave both Clintons on the political outside looking in. In eight years, Hillary Clinton would probably be too old to seriously challenge for the Presidency, since she would be sixty nine years of age in the year 2016. Therefore, a Barack Obama victory in November 2008 would end for good the Presidential hopes of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
However, the outlook for the Clinton’s is much improved with a John McCain election victory in November. In fact, four years of Republican John McCain in the White House would provide one final opportunity for Mrs. Clinton to campaign for the nation’s highest office in the next Presidential election.
In 2012, John McCain would be celebrating his seventy sixth birthday. It is very likely that he would not run for a second term in office at that age. If he did, his advanced age would certainly be a major campaign issue. It is also very likely that with Republican, John McCain, in the White House, the 2012 election would once again provide a wide open field for Mrs. Clinton as the potential Democratic nominee.
Many mainstream political pundits are speculating that Mrs. Clinton may be offered the spot of Vice President on the 2008 Democratic ticket. The truth is that it is hard to see how such a ticket helps either candidate. In fact, such a ticket could create several major problems in the fall for the Obama campaign. First, it would bring the Clintons’ political baggage into the November campaign. Remember, she is currently viewed as untrustworthy in current public opinion polls by 6 of every 10 voters. Next, it would be hard to keep her husband focused on the campaign trail. He is a campaign trail liability as was in evidence in the recent Democratic primaries. In addition, both Clintons would probably upstage Barack Obama throughout the fall campaign and even into his first term of office in the White House.
It is also unclear what Hillary Clinton actually brings to the Democratic ticket for Obama. The fact is that Hillary Clinton’s primary base of support is white Democratic women. It is a voting demographic which should vote for Barack Obama without her on the ticket anyway. In addition, having Hillary Clinton as a running mate would compromise the Obama campaign of change while adding little actual experience in the area of United States foreign policy.
The Clintons’ thirst for a return to the White House is still clearly evident. However, the end of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential campaign is near. Her current political motivation is to position herself in defeat with a future Presidential campaign in mind. If Barack Obama loses in the fall general election, her next campaign for the Presidency in 2012 will have already begun.

berrymusic99 asked:


My tax refund was used to offset a defaulted student loan last year and I was wondering if that would happen with the money Bush proposed to send to taxpayers in the Spring.

David Castro asked:


Things are going along well for your business. Sales have never been better, debts are being repaid, and cash reserves, though modest, are starting to grow. Then the unthinkable happens; fuel costs go through the roof, the price of supplies skyrockets, and sales are showing signs of a steady decrease. Those modest cash reserves are shrinking up fast, and you don’t know where the money will come from to see your business through this very difficult time. The answer: a business loan.

Although the above is one scenario, it is certainly not the only reason to consider a business loan. It could be for funding the startup of a new business, or to finance an expansion project that will help your business to grow or enter into new markets or expand product lines. There are numerous reasons why a business might need additional financing. The issue is, once you determine that you need the money, you need to also figure out where to find the money, and how to best structure the financing.

A good place to start is your local bank. If you have an existing history with a bank, they are usually very interested in starting a conversation with you about a business loan. Make an appointment to speak with the business loan manager, and they can very quickly tell you your options are, and what the requirements are to qualify for the amount you need.

Be aware that different loan amounts, and different lenders, will require differing amounts and types of financial reports and documentation. For smaller loans it may not require much more than sales figures for the past several months. Larger loans may require a more extensive business plan that will show exactly what the funds will be used for, future revenue projections, and how the business plans to repay the loan.

One way to improve your chances of qualifying for a business loan is to go through the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA offers guarantees on business loans for qualifying organizations. This lets the lender know that even if your business fails, the government will step in to make sure the loan is repaid. This is a very good option, especially for newer businesses that may have trouble qualifying for a conventional loan.

If you do decide to go through the SBA, be prepared to document your businesses financial need. Before they guarantee a loan, the SBA will need to know that you have a solid plan, and there is a reasonable expectation of success before they will back your loan. This usually means a well written, detailed business plan. Once they agree to back your business, it is usually a short process for the bank to have the money form the loan transferred to your businesses account.

There are many reasons your business might deed a business loan. Just know that if you find that your business is in that position, there are resources available to help you. The SBA and the banks know that businesses need cash to operate, and they can provide the help you need.

I am not a troll­­ asked:


If Obama wins, he might let them all go to commit more terrorism. Should Bush execute all of them?